Home entertainment systems which combine Personal Computer and television functions (PC/TV systems), are increasingly becoming, generic, User interactive, multiple source and multiple destination communication devices. Such systems are required to communicate in different data formats between multiple locations for a variety of applications in response to User requests. For example, a PC/TV system may receive data from satellite or terrestrial sources comprising High Definition Television (HDTV) broadcasts, Multi-point Microwave Distribution System (MMDS) broadcasts and Digital Video Broadcasts (DVB). A PC/TV system may also receive and transmit data via telephone (e.g. the Internet) and coaxial lines (e.g. cable TV) and from both remote and local sources such as Digital Video Disk (DVD), CDROM, VHS and Digital VHS (DVHS.TM.) type players, PCs, and many other types of sources.
A number of problems arise in devising a User interface for a PC/TV system that supports complex User interactive tasks whilst providing a simple command interface suitable for the general public. Specifically, problems arise in providing an interface enabling a User to create, manage and maintain favorite service lists across a spectrum of multimedia services. It is desirable that such lists should facilitate User navigation through the complex array of multimedia services provided in a multimedia decoder. These problems and derivative problems are addressed by a system according to the present invention.